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tvN Mountain Action Drama Jirisan Has Surprising Steep 3% Ratings Drop in Episode 3 to 7.850% — 89 Comments

  1. Pingback:tvN Mountain Action Drama Jirisan Has Surprising Steep 3% Ratings Drop in Episode 3 to 7.850% - Kpopnchill - All About K-pop News

  2. After seeing Jirisan’s dismal trailers i actually wondered what if it ends up like King Eternal monarch. Star writer, star cast’s most anticipated drama but failed to deliver. Seems like it’s happening for real.
    Atleast netflix saved tkem from tanking overseas but i doubt iqyi is going to help much.

    Knetz were saying majority of the budget went to casting the actors.
    Does anyone knows if studio dragon produced this drama? Because despite paying heavy checks to it’s A list cast and writer, Cloy production and cinematography (minus the cringey paragliding scene) were pretty solid. I wonder what happened with Jirisan.

    • This was produced by Studio Dragon, A Story and Baram Pictures. The budget is 30 billion won. Seeing the drama its believable if someone says that the budget went to the cast because it didn’t go to the production. Next when someone does a BIG BUDGET drama I hope they cast less expensive actors so that the focus can be the production and not their salaries.

  3. Well, firstly the scenes in ep3 are really dark even on full brightness. Second, what is up with those time jumps?? Some big plot point is revealed then they just skip to another timeline, which makes it anticlimatic. The pacing doesn’t help. Third, this is becoming a mystery supernatural/horror thriller, which wasn’t what this was promoted as? Such a genre isn’t exactly public friendly. Fourth, the actors don’t seem to have much chemistry, though I highly suspect it’s due to poor directing. And lastly, someone please just turn back the time and tell Lee Eung Bok to step down. He’s biting off more than he can chew.

    I honestly feel that the script is being too ambitious, too many things are going on yet character development is minimal. It’s like Kim Eun Hee’s trying to go all out but instead her weaknesses are glaring through– she is being too plot-driven. At this point I feel compelled to continue watching because I’m curious about the plot, but something feels missing in the storytelling. That’s why its competitor One the Woman is getting all the ratings.

    • Your point about the darkness is spot on. I couldn’t see anything except for my reflection on the screen for several scenes because it was so dark. Which was made worse by the fact that that ‘action’ things were happening but I couldn’t see anything so it takes you out of the scene and disrupts the flow. LEB is definitely out of his comfort zone here and he doesn’t have a clue what he’s doing. Somehow he has managed to make the famous JJH charisma completely disappear. There are entire scenes where she’s on screen and I never notice her presence even when the camera is focused on her. The actors are coming across has stiff and uninteresting and KEH doesn’t have the strong point of writing fleshed out characters her skill lies with the edge of the seat dark mystery aspect which LEB has managed to ruin. The scenes that are supposed to feel creepy just feel bland and too dark to see anything. This isn’t playing to anyone’s strengths and is making the whole production look sloppy and LEB needs to stop with the scenic time lapse videos. The drama is already 80% filler the time lapse videos just make it look more lazy.

      • LEB needs to stick to doing his romances with KES. He’s seriously the main problem here. The outdoor scenes aren’t done well, the cameraman himself seems to be lost. None of the leads have any presence in the 2018 timeline. Not even the supporting ones. Especially Ju Jihoon doesn’t even have 1% of his charisma from Kingdom. Not much better for Jeon Jihyun. Then somehow in the 2020 timeline, she is just sitting indoors all the time but now has ten times more presence. How?????

      • Thank goodness I thought I was the only one who couldn’t feel her charisma at all. The 2020 timeline is better than 2018 but the core mystery is in the 2018 era so technically it should be more interesting. The trailers were already very messy so this shouldn’t come as a surprise but the drama is still messier than expected. The paranormal aspect doesn’t make it more interesting unfortunately because as everyone has been saying Lee Eun Bok has no clue what he’s doing. I’ve seen bad writing ruin good dramas but this is the first time I’ve seen how bad directing can completely ruin both the actors and the script. Now I’m worried for the mystery thriller drama that he’ll be doing with Song Hye Kyo.

      • Fully agree that LEB seems to be completely clueless. Even casual viewers can see the huge flaws in his directing. Has he never seen any adventure sports movies in his life? Did he somehow mistake the show for a documentary before picking it up?? Because his main goal seems to be taking 500 scenic shots of the mountain instead of, well, the actors… I even looked for the press conference to see for myself what was his so-called approach to making the show, but he didn’t even show up… Does he simply not care??? ROFL

        Giving this another 1-2 eps for KEH’s script but if the plot still doesn’t pick up I’m dropping it.

      • I just want to point on the darkness scenes, personally I feel it better, because on mountain you supposedly have no lights, right? Same as joseon era that shouldn’t have electricity, yet often scenes at night is too bright.

  4. The directing and editing isn’t good for a supposed high budget production, what in the world happened? The production period was already this long. Also most of the third episode was shrouded in darkness. Viewers probably couldn’t see sh%t on their TV screen. Doesn’t help that the show’s going in a direction that not everyone likes or can handle (subtle horror elements). Honestly seems much more suited to be a Netflix original series imo. This is gonna be the next sisyphus, unfortunately.

  5. I like the cast and the storyline…but one has to watch the show very closely and not miss out on any scene in order to follow the main plot. This genre will not have mass appeal, particularly the elderly viewers who watch TV at home. I agreed that many of the scenes were shot with too low lights…difficult to figure out what was showing on the screen. However, I am really enjoying this drama.

    • I don’t think it’s about the genre not having mass appeal. Despite the messy first two episodes, the ‘elderly viewers’ still watched and gave it record high ratings. And even the 7.8% for EP3 is still high. So interest is there. If viewership keeps dropping, it will most likely be because of the poor directing and editing which is making the story seem boring and the actors look like amateurs.

  6. Just reading the comments alone reminds me of expensive tvN turd mess DAYS. Shot for 6 months for a nothing burger plot. This could explain why tvN execs sold Jirisan to iqiyi so that not many international fans will find out much it sucks.

  7. Criminy, that is a huge drop! But given the majority of negative to scathing reviews out there, I’m not so surprised. Perhaps it’s too soon to tell but this is shaping up to join the trainwreck trifecta of TKEM, Sisyphus and DAYS.

    • And just like those three stinkers, will this one’s fans also try to defend it with the ‘it requires deep thinking to understand’ excuse? I wonder.

      • Or maybe deep squinting, in this case since it’s literally so dark? Already seeing the ‘one has to watch the show very closely in order to follow the plot’ defense. ?

  8. It’s still very boring. I was watching at 1.25x speed and still bored the whole time. The directing and editing are a mess, the leads have yet to show chemistry, and I dont know if it’s just me but Joo Ji Hoon has little screen presence?

    • The plot isn’t super deep but the directing is sucking the life out of everything. The suspense build up is completely missing and it makes everything boring. What is the use of having a star ost line up when the bgm is soooooo bad!

  9. If the ratings continue to slide down like Sisyphus did then it would be officially a flop. But if Sunday ratings increase back to 10% range then it would be fine. Otherwise, it might be like Encounter which remained steady at 7% range for its remaining episodes. Even Arthadal was fixed at 6-7% if not mistaken.

    I guess TVN is hoping it could be as big as a hit like Goblin, CLOY, and Mr.Queen.

    But compare it with Signal which started at 5% and ended at 12% something then the drama is already on course for a Kim Eun Hee penned drama.

    The only problem is that there is such high expectations from the PD since he also directed Goblin and Mr. Sunshine.

    Maybe it would have been better if they made this into a movie.

  10. There’s nothing going right for this drama, definitely another dud. And the 3% drop is huge, not even a gradual decline but maybe that’s because of higher competition on Saturdays, ratings will probably rise on fourth episode

  11. The 15 sec trailer for Bulgasal was more interesting and had better cinematography then anything Jirisan has put out till now.

  12. It’s so messy… Nothing is good :the writing, the direction, the actors… When you see the CGI in Vincenzo and these ones…

  13. This is kingdom version in modern time without zombie lol.Kim eun hee should stop casting joo ji hoon in her drama except kingdom.Cause he doesnt have star power to bringing rating magnet.This drama is poor in editing,directing and poor cgi because bugdet drama went to jjh duo.Good decision for park seo joon reject this drama probably next flop like tkem and arthdal cronicle. You should see vicenzo casting unpopular female lead because song joong ki its self too expensive editing,directing,cgi was good except italy cgi was very poor but its only in 1 or 2 episode.

    • Does it matter whether Ju Jihoon is a ratings magnet when you have Jun Jihyun? Given the way this drama is going, you could cast Gong Yoo in male JJH’s place and it wouldn’t save this drama.

      • Sorry but jun ji hyun has yet to produce a hit drama solely on her star power. Maybe if gong yoo was there, he could have saved this train wreck.

      • Erm, MLFAS? If JJH has no star power, then what female actress does? This debuted at 9% partially bc of her.

        No drama can be saved by star power alone if everything else is bad. Star power isn’t some magic bullet the way some ppl here seem to think it is.

      • Kim soo hyun’s last drama before mlfts ended with humongous ratings. Plus he had dream high success too. Jjh before mlfts was in movies only. So that ratings pull had major contribution from kim soo hyun.

      • jjh fantards are pressed. her dramas mostly depend on ml’s star power. without lmh & ksh, mlfts & lotbs wouldn’t be so popular.

      • Uh, the same KSH and LMH whose ratings pull couldn’t save their own dramas last year? Okayyy

  14. Oh dear. Is Jirisan going to turn out to be Sisyphus 2.0? Both big budget, high profile anniversary projects with stacked cast and crew.

    This is also the first time I’ve seen bad directing be the culprit. Usually it’s writing or acting. The dark scenes thing seems to be a trend in TV nowadays. I remember similar complaints of not being able to see anything during Game of Thrones’ Night King battle and Ashin of North action sequence.

    Maybe Netflix DID pass on this show. If that’s the case, I’m going to start discounting any TvN production that doesn’t show up on Netflix.

    • The directing is bad, but I also dont think that the script is that interesting either, at least up to ep 3. Nothing important really happens in each episode except for the last few minutes and this is a script problem. But then it’s only ep3 and the upcoming episodes can be better? I remember people complaining a lot about Vincenzo in the first 2-3 episodes but the plot got much better after that. I think I’m gonna watch today’s episode to decide whether to drop it.

      • Vincenzo got some complaints early on, but its ratings kept rising through the first few episodes and didn’t reverse trajectory like they’re doing here. Its complaints were also about tonal shift and quirky characters that viewers got used to rather than bad directing.

        Otherwise, agree with your 4-episode rule.

      • Just finished episode 4 and I could barely keep my eyes open. So boring and plot development = potato bomb. Even 7% is too much for this drama. AC was more interesting than this despite the fact I never finished that drama.

    • On wikipedia it said that iqiyi bought the distribution rights for 80% of the production cost (₩25 billion). Would Netflix be willing to fork out that much for one drama?

  15. thankgod PSJ didn’t do this project
    I know he always has a good eye for projects
    my trust in him has increased more now seeing how jirisan is becoming a dud
    PSJ took the right desicion

      • Please, not this again. Reports were taken down, because he rejected the role and there was obvious misunderstandings, but not with the fact, that he got an offer to star in drama. Reports about the role were accurate to the point of rookie guy being first ex-lieutenant, that was then changed to more age appropriate “captain” with re-casting. But in drama itself you can perfectly see thanks to not altered storyline and dialogues, that the role was written for a guy, who is younger, than female heroine. There is no real point in trying to make it seem like role was initially written for JJH, when writing of his character don’t match that wish. Plenty of starts reject the roles. Plenty of starts come to pick up projects. There is nothing wrong in that. It’s a normal practice in industry.

      • Yea, plenty of stars reject roles but reports are never removed without a trace like it never happened. Is that normal practice in the industry too? The news was deleted so fast there wasn’t even any news of the so called rejection.

      • As I said, there was misunderstanding, but not in who was offered the role. The news of reject almost never happens, btw. Reports just move to next star that picks up the projects or who was offered before. News nowadays comes when they’re deep in talks or it’s a done deal. It wasn’t some unknown source that leaked the casting report either. Which means something went out of control with reporting, but not with the correct name in talks behind the scene. No need to be so defensive) That role form my observation was obviously written for a younger guy. Like very much obviously. When dialogues and actions of a lead male do not match a picture of his age. You may refuse to believe reports for reasons of wanting JJH to be “the only man for the job”, but the role itself for me says otherwise. Plus reports were not off. Have a nice day)

      • You should take your own advice and not be so defensive about something that never happened. Casting news or news in general in its original reporting are never scrubbed off the internet unless it was a mistake so it cannot be cited in the future. But, go ahead and stay delusional if you are so inclined to believe what you want to believe.

  16. the drama doesn’t have a good set-up, things just happen and the camera feels weird, idk like I want them to look better on screen

  17. People can be good and successful and get opportunities and eventually get one too far that is outside the wheelhouse. This drama is what happens. I’m more surprised about the writing issues than the production because I’ve seen directors get successful and get budgets and then have, if not duds, shows that don’t live up to expectations.

    I’ll keep checking in to see if the story improves. I can forgive bad CGI if the story works.

  18. Forget shaky camera and darkness. Dark thriller genre is fine with me. Multiple serial killers? No problem. You want to throw a ghost into your story? Go for it, if a ghost looks like a Ji-Hoon.
    I have a different beef with the director, after watching episode 4. And not only Jirisan’s director.

    What’s wrong with latest dramas casting the same side actors that have roles in 2 or 3 ONGOING dramas? Don’t get me wrong, I love all those great hard working actors.But how can I take the dark drama seriously when I see comic relief Jo Hun-Chul climbing mountains and caring stretchers? The same grandma that just died in Cha Cha Cha plays FL’s grandma. Another grandma that plays Ms. Kim in ongoing One The Women just died on the mountain Jirisan. And my fave Oh Jung Se? Why is he playing around with the SAME hand movements and cute speech as he did for his autistic character in It’s OK to Not Be OK? It feels like they all are cashing in on their previous roles and public’s love for them. It doesn’t work in a dark suspense thriller. It kills the mood because I can’t take him seriously in Jirisan.
    And don’t even start me on Ju Ji-Hoon goofy body movements. After watching episode 4, we learn that his character is a former military man, and not of a low rank. He trained soldiers in that mountain and tons of other places. That means he spend at least 12-14 years in army. Training hard. Mental training, discipline, weapons/explosives, different equipment training, athletics. What is the director doing then? He left army just recently. Is that how a military man behaves, walks, handles equipment? Even in civilian clothes you can notice a hardened, trained military man. But the ML walks and talks like a goofy, weird, ungainly, tho very handsome and fashionable guy who only cares about his clothes and hair style. And asks stupid questions about potato bombs. Like a military commander who trained his solders for years in that mountain wouldn’t know its history of partisan movement that made improvised dangerous explosives later adapted by local poachers? He isn’t a low level private soldier, he went to extensive military training, maybe even military academy. Also, the FL learned in episode 3 that he is a former ranked military man and she and others still treat him as a simple newbie with no respect? Even if he wanted to keep it a secret, his personal file is there. It doesn’t work like that in real S. Korean life and work places.
    Now I understand the other director’ criticism of this director. The main actors don’t act like their characters are written, they just goof around any way they wish and it kills the thriller’s atmosphere.

    • Exactly, but it not surprising if you know this blog well.. They are all like sheep, they only face where the shepherd wants them to face.. If tommorow, kooala comes out and praise it and the ratings becomes normal again.. Thier tone will change drastically

      • Lily — your comment is so accurate! Lol. Well, EP4 ratings shot up to 9.384%. So they must be feeling sheepish now. Hehehehe

      • Right. I open this blog recently after a loooong time. And I feel the hate is really heavy here. Haters gonna hate, fans gonna defend heavily. Seldom I find comment that uplifting.

      • Typical. That’s why she didn’t want to post about KSH being welcomed back to the acting industry in record time. Some of his ads are being reinstated. He starts shooting Sad Tropics movie in Dec. Once she changes her tune and report on his movie all the sheep change their tune too.

      • It’s called die die want to save face. Since she started off being anti him, she can’t change tack now. Looks like k-ent has forgiven him. All his haters will be so messed up. Lol.

      • Well said. The sheep here are mostly wolves pretending to be sheep. Karma sure comes fast.

  19. I feel somewhat vindicated at this stage. Lol. Back in Sep I said that something must seriously wrong behind the scenes for Jirisan to be banished to iqiyi instead of Netflix. I immediately got attacked by stans of jjh who touted her Netflix success in Kingdom. Doesn’t need Netflix to prove Jirisan is going to be a bigger hit. Star SL stat ML, star writer, star director, who needs Netflix? Iqiyi paid top money for Jirisan outbidding Netflix. Gianna has huge fanbase in China. Blah blah, blah. I was observing the filming situation since last year to know it was riddled with production issues using covid as an excuse. An astute commenter @Laura pointed out why other dramas filming were not stopped but Jirisan was when they all came under the same restrictions. The trailers later came out further confirmed my suspicions. Tvn executives must have seen the early cuts and thought holy cow we’re not even show them to Netflix. If big Chinese money iqiyi want it so be it. After hyping it since March 2020 by mentioning Park Seo Joon’s as ML contenders, Jisrisan could potentially be the biggest dud surpassing DAYS. Lesson learnt, don’t count all your chickens till they hatch. Arrogant jjh fans must be seething now. Lol.

    • I’m one of those on the cautious side too and got shot down by jjh crazies & anti Netflix crowd. Chinese money talks (iqiyi investor strength). Who cares about whether Netflix like it or not. I’m waiting for the C-netizens negative comments like how they commented on DAYS stinker. It was wise for Netflix to pass this one up. It has now come to pass that tvN dramas shown on Netflix this year has the biggest success like Vincenzo and Hometown Chachacha in spite of KSH abortion scandal. The biggest non tvn k-drama Squid Games vindicated my position that Netflix has the powerbase to catapult K-dramas to worldwide success.

      • @observer – I remember we discussed this. Given current specs, my hypothesis still stands that Netflix gets first dibs on drama selection under its deal with TVN and JBTC, and Netflix may have passed on Jirisan.

        I actually think if Jirisan were on Netflix, it might be “saved” by the international audience the same way IONTBO was saved.

      • @Ophelia, I agree with you. Lol. Thank goodness it’s possible to have a good banter with you considering the level of troll & its accompanying noise making vocabulary decorating the comment section of late. It’s just simple common sense and observation. It’s public knowledge studio dragon & netflix has a 3 year deal. TKEM & IONTBO by virtue of being in Netflix are saved by the international fans. Jirisan must be really bad to not even make the cut.

      • @Ophelia, my reply to you went further down. I used a word that triggered the filter software used by blogger. Lol.

      • ‘…in spite of KSH abortion scandal.’ The scandal came AFTER the drama safely finished airing so there was no chance for it to affect the ratings. In spite of doesn’t apply here. Also, by ‘tVn dramas shown on Netflix this year has the biggest success’, are you saying Netflix is responsible for the high domestic ratings of the two dramas you mentioned? Or do you specifically mean international success? Genuinely asking. @observer

      • Why do I get the feeling that Netflix seems to be a trigger word for hot debates/catfights? Lol. Getting my popcorn ready.

      • Am watching the catfight round 2 with interest. Right on cue, the phrase “in spite of” and the N word indeed fling open the doors of swinging claws & fur flying. Lol.

      • @popcorn shows up. @cheeky always follows right behind. And vice versa. What are you two? Dumb and dumber? (whispering) Don’t worry, we’ll keep pretending you’re not the same person.

        Same goes to the Netflix ass-licker @observer and @doomster always switching between accounts to agree with their own comment. Boy, there’s a lot of interesting folks on this playground. ??????????????

      • I don’t think Netflix chooses only quality dramas to be aired tbh. HSH’s Nevertheless got bad reception & ratings domestically but it was still shown on Netflix. I dunno, I’m not an expert. It does provide a good platform for rising or rookie actresses to get more recognition & opportunities for better grittier roles. Established stars like JJH no need to be in Netflix so fans don’t need to fight over it.

      • Ophelia and pearl before swine is the same commenter too. So is jcw and hearmeout. Indeed lots of interesting folks & boot-lickers in this playground.

  20. This is early days, so I tell myself. I’m just a keen watcher and learned about other stuff on directing, cinematography, scriptwriting from more than 10 years of k-drama watching. The star power of Jirisan is a big magnet. I agree with most comments here about the directing. The time shifts are not properly timed nor shifted. for episode 4, Iqiyi has not properly done its subtitling and editing. The plot starts with many handwriting notes scenes that really needs keen and quick subtitling. The scene of the photographer starts clear as day and in a second turns into a very dark night. I so want this series to be successful.

  21. It’s too early to tell at this stage whether it will join DAY’s fate. Boy, there must be serious breakdowns in scripting, direction & acting behind the scenes. Tvn hyping it up for nearly 2 years didn’t help at all. It was touted to be one of the most anticipated dramas of 2021. The buzz level for the ML casting was up there. Thank goodness PSJ gave this a pass. Imagine starring in this instead of Marvel movie in Hollywood. Every other A-list actor was suggested by fans to star with JJH. Now for the first episode to be panned by a well-known director takes the cake. Fate really deals a strange hand to k-dramas this year.

  22. They say joo ji hoon is talented,bankable actor blah blah,he has hit drama like hyena and kingdom. Jirisan will be another hit drama for him.Like wth??He just lucky getting cast in blockbuster movie as supporting cast lol that’s it.He can’t carried movie alone under his name, all success because veteran actor lol. He just drug addict for me.

    • Boohooo…turnsout you’re just JuJiHoon hater. Lol.
      Criticizing a drama for it’s directing, plot etc, saying a drama is boring is okay. But if you bashing a drama just because you hate the actor? Ew.
      I don’t like Suzy, because she’s bland in my eyes. But I never once badmouthed her. I just don’t watch her. Jun Ji Hyun, I also never have any interest to waych her and wonder why so many call her queen etc. But I never say anything about it.
      So you adore PSJ. Just support him ffs, watch his dramas. No need to take down a drama because you don’t like the cast. Just don’t watch it. Duh.

  23. @Ophelia, I agree with you. Lol. Thank goodness it’s possible to have a good banter with you considering the level noise making vocabulary decorating the comment section of late. It’s just simple common sense and observation. It’s public knowledge studio dragon & netflix has a 3 year deal. TKEM & IONTBO by virtue of being in Netflix are saved by the international fans. Jirisan must be really bad to not even make the cut.

    • Lol no it has nothing to do with quality whatsoever bec there was a recent naver article wondering why kdramas with poor storylines even managed to get a netflix deal.reason why jirisan didn’t make the cut was bec the producers wanted to get additional profits just in case the work becomes succesful but by choosing netflix,they won’t get as much bec netflix controls the intellectual property rights.

      • R u an insider working for netflix and tvn/studio dragon? In all the board room meetings recording the minutes? The level of delulu thinking jjh/shk stans know no bounds. Lol.

  24. Why do some commenters here think dramas shown on netflix = quality ?that’s not how it works lol.netflix, disney+ add 15% more of the production cost but they take the IP rights.large companies do not really need netflix deals bec they usually want to get more profits so by choosing their own ott platforms,they don’t have to hand over the right.can’t say the same about small companies though.

  25. R u an insider working for netflix and tvn/studio dragon? In all the board room meetings recording the minutes? The level of thinking jjh/shk stans know no bounds. Lol.

    • No need to be an insider when you could go to naver and see the article for yourself
      But sure,go on.i have no prob with anyone thinking anything that gets netflix deal = high quality

    • “wanted to get additional profits just in case the work becomes successful” so that means they know it will stink but hoping like crazy for it to become a hit to get all the additional profits. hahahahaha.

      • naver is the source of all truth, the ultimate truth, no other truth. sounds so familiar.

      • Journalist’s words,not mine

        Anyhoo the creator of squid game himself said he’s not rich, netflix paid according to the original contract.didn’t even get a bonus

  26. The ratings went up again for episode 4 tho. So far still liking this drama, so I won’t bother with the negatives. Not the best but still entertaining(at least for me). Can’t wait for the next episodes.

  27. This comment section is getting crazy like Kim Yoo Jung post. Looks like some players are here. Sad. I would like to see Jirisan do better in the long run.

  28. I like the direction this drama is heading with the creepy/freaky/horror/mystery/crime storyline, and not some Nat Geo-ish mountain climbing drama with romance.

    Quite a number of dark dramas out this year and I hope next year would be the same.

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